Koinobori Karasu, 195cm silk rectangle, Rain
As the sun rises, the imposing black karasu (jungle crow) soars above the city. Attracted to shiny things, he finds intricate arrowheads amongst the Tango No Sekku decorations and steals a gleaming katana samurai sword. His shadowy presence spooks the locals, who then spook him in turn, and losing balance, he becomes caught in the koinobori carp streamers. Panicking now, the imposing corvid heads towards the harbour, unwittingly collecting fish bones and a lobster as he glides.
Measuring 195cm x 135cm (approx. 77x53in.), 100% silk with hand fringed edges, dry clean only.
Every Sabina Savage design is hand illustrated, telling the story of the collection through the composition and details. The scarves are drawn in full, and the four corners of each scarf hold individual elements, ensuring the wearer will display a different feature however the scarf is folded. Each illustration takes around six weeks to complete.
Escape Into Edo
Sabina Savage’s FW24 collection tells the story of foreign species being compassionately released into Edo’s Tango No Sekku festivities. It is Japan, 1688. Japan has lived with its self-imposed isolation policy (sakoku) since 1639. Dutch traders have been the only traders allowed onto the islands of Japan .
In Sabina’s telling of the story, the city of Edo is ready to celebrate Tango No Sekku, (the Boy’s Day Festival) celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunisolar calendar. The city is richly decorated for the festivities. Dutch traders arrive with living gifts, collected from all over the world, for the Shogun. However, the festivities block the route to Edo Castle.
Little do the Dutch traders know, but the Shogun Tokugawa has enacted the Orders on Compassion for Living, a radical set of laws that ban cruelty and imprisonment of any living creatures with extreme consequences. These gifts will not be appreciated.
While the Dutch traders camp out for the night, the ‘living gifts’ sit in their cages, calling out in the night. Revelers from the festivities pass by the encampment, horrified at the sight of the caged animals. Quietly they begin to free the Leopard, the Rabbits and the Karasu (aka the crow). Terrified at first, the creatures creep forward, their eyes adjusting to their new surroundings. With each careful step, boldness takes hold. Within seconds the creatures bolt, disappearing into the night.
